The Third Annual South Florida Regionalism Summit, held October 21 in Fort Lauderdale, not only provided a forum to learn of regional efforts being made in the southeastern portion of Florida, but also proved to be a venue where myregion.org received high-praise for the efforts being done in Central Florida.

The event, held just days before Hurricane Wilma made a direct impact on the region, was sponsored by the Tri-County Leadership Council, which represents Broward, Palm Beach and Miami-Dade Counties. Other counties considered part of the region include Monroe, Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River.

In his keynote address, Jim Murley, a former Secretary of the Florida Department of Community Affairs and currently the director of the Florida Atlantic University Center for Urban and Environmental Solutions, provided an overview of how the region is currently performing in several key indicator categories. Much like Central Florida, the South Florida area is dealing with a rapidly growing population that is very culturally diverse. The economy, housing, transportation and the environment are other critical issues in the region.

Murley also discussed the importance of analyzing issues and looking at potential solutions from a regional perspective. He said that while South Florida was originally at the forefront of regional thinking in Florida, they now have been passed by Central Florida through the work of myregion.org. He added that what is being done in Central Florida is “cutting edge” and a “national model.”

Panel discussions during the remainder of the event provided updates on education, housing, transportation, Bioscience and other key issues of interest to the region.

As is the case in Central Florida, the topic of affordable housing is a “hot button” issue in the region. The recent trends of skyrocketing home values and apartments becoming condominiums have significantly reduced the housing options for a growing number of residents of the region. While none of the panelists had a “silver bullet” answer for the problem, it was agreed that addressing the issue will take collaboration between local and state governments, developers and the business community and would need to include innovative and “out of the box” ideas.